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Abstract

This paper reviews the main challenges
facing countries in attempting to improve labor market
outcomes among youth, focusing on the issues that became
starkly visible during the recent financial crisis. In order
to better identify and set up human development
interventions, the paper proposes an agenda that focuses on
three areas: (1) improving the understanding of the causes
and consequences of poor labor market outcomes for youth;
(2) continuing to learn from the evaluation of pilots and
programs that aim to promote productive employment among
young people; and (3) addressing implementation issues which
frequently overwhelm the best designs. The paper utilizes
research on youth employment to take stock of youth labor
market outcomes across regions, focusing on inactivity,
unemployment, and employment indicators. A review of what is
known about current interventions, including those that
appear in the youth employment Inventory database of
programs, provides the basis for determining the efficacy of
five categories of intervention: (i) skills training
(including vocational training, on-the-job-training
programs, literacy and numeracy programs, second-chance and
equivalency programs, and soft-skills programs); (ii)
entrepreneurship promotion (financial assistance, technical
assistance, and entrepreneurship training); (iii) subsidized
employment (including wage subsidy programs, public works,
and public/community service programs); (iv) employment
services (including search assistance and access to labor
market information, job counseling and placement services,
and financial assistance for job search); and (v) reforms to
labor market regulation (including anti-discrimination
legislation) training programs, wage subsidies. Finally, the
paper proposes an agenda for research and policy analysis in
the area of human development that is expected to help both
deepen the understanding of youth employment issues and
improve the selection, design, and implementation of youth
employment programs.